19
Back Bay Basin,
Boston, Mass.
1909
Feb. 27
(No 19)
Whistler courtship
  Upward thrust of head and neck ending in
 Masthead posture or this modification of it.
Upward thrust & masthead posture
  This was almost as common as the back thrust 
which it sometimes immediately followed or preceded
although ordinarily it was a distinct movement (and
pose) complete in itself and made directly from and 
back to the normal position. Sometimes the neck
was elongated and straight as in the bow sprit posture,
sometimes so shortened and curved that the occiput
almost touched the back between the shoulders. In
either case the bill was invariably well opened and
pointed skyward for several seconds during which
the head and neck were kept rigid. This action
frequently culminated in the utterance of the paaap and
the kicking up of spray but oftener than not I heard
no sound and saw no water fly.